Chapter 23

My lungs wanted to burst. The pressure. It was too much. I need to reach the surface, but something held me down. I couldn't get above water. I struggled, mouth gasping for air.

I couldn't catch a breath. There was only water all around. Water inside my body.

I -

"Calm down," a soothing voice commanded.

Calm? He wasn't the one drowning.

"Breathe."

Couldn't he see I was trying?

"It was just a nightmare."

Duh. That still didn't dispel the very real feeling of water in my lungs. I would die in bed, a victim of a vivid hallucination.

Lips pressed against mine and blew. Startling.

Warm air rushed into my lungs, dissipating the phantom liquid, expanding my chest.

The mouth pulled away, and I expelled a breath before they pressed against mine again, this time, bringing a tingle.

A familiar tingle.

I opened my eyes and stared in shock at the behemoth giving me mouth to mouth.